Here is a brief story on how I acquired a cat…

About 7 months ago someone in our apartment complex must have moved out and like many people could not take their pet with them (or so I am assuming). About this time is when we started seeing this bi-colored blue and white British Standard shorthaired lurking around. He was understandably standoffish to everyone, but being a handsome cat some of the people in the area would leave out tuna or whatnot that he would enjoy when absolutely no one was looking.

After about 3 months of this lurking I was finally able to approach him and pick him up. No one in the complex could get close to him, but I have a way with animals. This is when we decided to get some proper cat food for the poor guy and leave it for him on the porch. It was not long after that he was poking his nose into our apartment. This is when I had to make a decision, let him in or keep him out. Not an easy choice because I am (or at least was) allergic to cats. For whatever reason however, I do not seem to have a problem with this cat. I let him in and that was all she wrote as my new owner made himself comfortable.

For the record his name is: Socks, Lord Marbury, Emissary of Jeff and Nan, the Dignified. The Socks was what Nan originally named him because of his wonderful white socks. I though he acted more like Lord Marbury for the character on The West Wing so we added that too. The Emissary part was because he seemed to announce himself and us wherever he goes. The Dignified is for this way to prominent ego that he exerts whenever he is caught being kittenish. We call him any of the four but usually Socks.

This is a well trained cat. He does not seem to be destructive and any way, he rarely scratches and when he does, it does not seem to be damaging anything (although the tree in front of our apartment is just about bare of bark.) He now lets us pick him up whenever we like but he complains about it very vocally (purring the whole time) pretending to be indignant. In the mornings and evenings it is thunder-paws through the apartment (very cattish) and he love his “Pounce”, Catnip Mouse, and dangly toy. He is not a “high energy” cat which is good, because I am not sure I could handle I high energy pet. In other words; he’s a great cat.

Nan says he is my cat mostly because he will stay with me more often than not. I have not had that kind of companionship since I was in high school and our family dog Bandit would stay with me all the time. I had a cockatoo who was attached to me, but it is not the same as a dog or cat, there is that cage thing at night where as cats and dogs can jump on your bed and be foot warmers. Recently he has taken to jumping up on an ottoman that I put my laptop on and looking at me over the screen. It is really very funny, especially when he thinks he needs more attention and walks all over the keyboard. Yeah, he’s my cat.

Now being mostly a blue cat I think he thinks he can be invisible. He will find a place to sit and stay real still and dissolve into the background watching us all the while. When we do approach him he gets miffed and finds a new spot. Earlier this week he took “Stealth Kitty” to a new level. I had to take out the trash rather late in the evening and as I left I left the front door open. This is not a problem for the cat, we leave the patio door open all the time so he can go out whenever he wants. As I left he stuck his head out the door. I turned the corner and there he was following me. As soon as he saw that I saw him he bolted for the bushes. As I walked to the dumpster he followed me moving from bush to bush, “out of sight”. I decide to see if he was following me or just going out for a romp, so I went around the building. He followed. Eventually he was walking right on my heel, it was a funny sight. I got back to the apartment and he followed me and that was when I first “walked the cat”.

Now I take a few cat treats along with me and when he get close I drop one and wait for him to eat it. He looks up to me and on we go. He stays behind me, runs 15 feet or so ahead of me, but stays within a short distance waiting for another treat. This is how I am training our cat and it seems to be working. Someone saw me walking the cat this evening and I told him I was walking the cat, he busted up laughing at the sight of a cat doing what you might expect a dog to do. It is rather comical.

So far we have only tried this late at night when there are no other animals around so there is more work to be done. So far however the “walking the cat” has been fun.

It’s all about subtext. Don’t you get it, it’s all about subtext? Yes. Hate group leaders understand this; when they want their membership to do something immoral or illegal they don’t tell them directly, “Go lynch that fruit, he’s gay and shouldn’t exist.” No they couch the idea of doing that in the minds of their membership and then say, “wouldn’t that be a good thing” encouraging them to do it. Then some poor deluded shmuck will grow some cajones and actually do it. The leaders can deny they ordered the action and the burden falls on the misguided perpetrator. Welcome to the world of politically motivated violence we are experiencing today.

It all started last summer when some nutcases started bringing guns to Presidential appearances. It slowly ramped up with signs portraying President Obama as Hitler. This in and of itself recalled the negative imagery of the Nazi regime and applied it to the current administration. You might as well shouted “Obama is a Fascist” and the called for the action that happened during WWII (in other words a call to arms and violence.) This all lead to a general contempt of the party in the majority and disrespect for the office of the president. The contempt was refocused by a “you lie” shout out on the Senate floor and the wink and a nudge blessing given by the Republican party members. Finally, irresponsible third party members and bloggers just about deliver orders to “reload and target” democratic lawmakers and posted addresses on the web. Is it then surprising that some wackos out there physically threaten people and harassed them?

The Republican statements to curtain the violence are going to fall on deaf ears of the extremist because they know that now they are just saying that to appease the media and pacifists and still read into it a wink and a nod as the spokesperson then goes on to really blame someone else for the increase in violent actions. This is not going to stop until someone it killed and the FBI starts arresting a lot of people.

There is even an absurd idea that the democrats are inciting and inviting violence against them to drum up a sympathetic feeling. Really? They want you to kill them? They are suicidal? Sorry, that dog don’t hunt.

As crowds gather and opposing perspectives clash there is a more and more likely a chance that some person will end up with a bullet in their brain or a sign post so far up their ass they will simply be dead. It seems to me it will be blood spilled not at the foot of the Tree of Liberty but the feet of the bewildered to wake people up to the fact that this hysteria is out of control. When that happens the law enforcement will no longer stand idly by as extremist epithets are spouted, they will go into arrest mode and what was your right to free speech will be vastly curtailed because now peacekeepers know that this form of free speech ends up with people dead. So keep up the violent escalation you stupid hate mongering, deluded, misinformed sons of bitches, you are on a path of taking away even more of your rights and you will end up in jail.

But then again, if you are in jail you will have healthcare.

Is reality following fiction or is fiction creating this reality? If you have ever watched The West Wing, the political drama that aired on NBC and is re-run now on Bravo (check your listings) and available on DVD, then you may have noticed some interesting parallels between the show and today’s Obama White House.

One of the things we do know is that Aaron Sorkin based the character Josh Lyman as the Deputy Chief of Staff on the real life Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. It is prophetic then that at the end of the series that Josh Lyman then becomes Chief of Staff to a Hispanic President. It is good to remember that “The West Wing” ran from 1999 through 2006.

The above parallel is just one that is blindingly obvious as you watch MSNBC or CNN (FOX is a propaganda network so I do not watch it) and then watch the series The West Wing. I am going to watch the series again and as I watch it I am going to write down everything I see as parallels or prophetic.

The real question I am going to have to ask myself is this: Are the things I am seeing as parallel really parallels or am I reading into it for the sake of finding parallels. Psychologists call this Matrixing, seeing something because you want to see it. I have a feeling I am really seeing the parallels and will report back with the results. In the mean time if you are a West Wing fan think about it. 

Sure it was the old joke to us kids when I was growing up, the adults just did not understand the Rock and Roll that was being piped into our young ears through the FM band and vinyl platters. The music just did not register with them at all and so the younger generation just wrote off those adults as square. But here’s the rub, some of them did get it and as the 70’s pushed into the 80’s more and more of those critical adults were swayed into the music of Elvis, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and on and on.

My dad was one of those that when I was young couldn’t stand my music, but as time moved on I would catch him listening Elton John and liking it. Oh sure he would never admit to liking it, his “Preferred” listening was Count Basie and Glenn Miller, except when I found a “Madman Across the Water” and “The Stranger” tape in his regular listening collection. No I never confronted him on it, I just let him carry on with his secret listening and when I gave him a Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits album it was not returned. Apparently he learned to like “that noise” and maybe even appreciate it.

On the other hand of course I have learned to enjoy a large spectrum of music. My playlists contain Jazz, Rock, Classic Rock, Golden Oldies, Big Band, Swing, Broadway Musical, Barbershop, some country, Classical, Chant, Electronic, Disco (yeah, sue me), Punk, Glitter Rock, Some Metal, Rap (old school), Comedy, and a variety of others. Some of this was certainly influenced by my parents; I grew up with them playing Gilbert O’Sullivan and Herb Alpert spinning on the Kenwood. They encouraged me to listen and enjoy all types of music, even those they thought were noise. At least they had an open mind.

So here I am listening to the music the kids are playing today and I just don’t get it. I do not get why their music is filled with violent messages, misogynistic imagery and more misanthropy than I can withstand. This is what passes as music? Aside from the lyrics, where are the instruments? Even the Rock and Roll noise of the past required guitars and three chords. The good stuff even had horns, strings and woodwinds (or at least a good keyboardist) to fill out the sound. Am I missing something or has all that been replaced with re-sampled and overdubbed electronics? Where is the musicality?

Of course I grew up from being influenced by the Rock from the late ‘60’s through the late ‘70’s and hold a special place for the artists from this era, but from everything I see it is justified. The music was music, the lyrics had meaning (for the most part) and it was not all overproduced to appeal to every 12 year old in the market.

Please know I am not knocking all artists out there, I have heard so great stuff on the indie scene and the internet as brought some real catchy stuff, but where are the real musician that can write a song, pen some meaningful lyrics, play some real instruments and appeal to more that a coffeehouse niche? For a minute there I thought Ben Folds was going to be the new Billy Joel, so where is he? You get the idea, it’s not that the new music is inherently bad, but the older, “classic” rock, was just that good. I want more of that and it’s gone.

Want some interesting proof? When there are big concerts who are the ones playing? That’s right, the guys from the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s. The Who goes on tour and it is HUGE. Elton John plays to sold out venues in Vegas as a regular thing. When Vegas wants a new act who do they look to? Well right now it’s Bette Midler, Donny and Marie, Cher and a select few others. They tried Brittany Spears, Prince, and various other DJ’s, they just don’t sell or last. Barry Manilow sells out nightly. When Neil Diamond does a concert there is no doubt it sells out. Ever seen the frenzy that happen when Babs (Barbara Streisand) announces a concert date? Why? The music of course.

Now you are going to say that the frenzy is all amongst my generation, and this assumption would be wrong; even the younger concert goes are looking for tickets to shows like I listed above. Come to Vegas and look at the lines, just as many young people as the Flower Generation. Something is missing in todays music.

I want more good music, I really do.

So here we are, about to get a new healthcare legislation and from what I understand within the legislation is a Universal Healthcare Mandate. From what I understand this means that every person MUST have health insurance or they can be criminally sited for something; people who may not have the money for healthcare are about to become a criminal class simply because they are poor. Wow. Welcome to America where if you do not have cash you are simply a criminal.

Let’s think this through.

So what happens if you cannot get health insurance? You have a pre-existing condition (call it a genetic issue not related to lifestyle) and no one will insure you for less than you earn. For whatever reason you fall through all the cracks for Medicare or Medicaid, so what happens to you? From what I understand you get fined. Really? You can’t afford health care so you can afford the fine? Really?

So what happens if this persists? More fines? Jail? Sure I can see jail time, something like a debtor’s prison but for people who can’t afford healthcare. But from what I understand it costs 40k a year to house each inmate. So we are going to jail people and spend 40k a year doing it? And while they are at it (sending people to prison) don’t they have to provide healthcare? $40k a year, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just give free health care and not convert impoverished people into criminals? Seriously, this is what you are asking for when you create a Universal Mandate for healthcare.

Now I know that there are areas of the US where people will commit a crime in say October and get prison time for 6 months to simply ride out the winter. Spring comes around, they get released and come the following October they do something else and get arrested again. Aren’t we setting up a similar situation where people may opt to commit a crime (they are criminal already) and go to jail or prison just for the healthcare? Is this such a far fetched thought? Is this happening already?

Take this one step further; someone who already knows they are now a criminal for no other reason than they cannot pay for health insurance figures if they are already damned, why not really do a job and find a healthcare company executive and do something that will really make a statement. After all when they are done they will be arrested and then put in jail where healthcare is provided. Crime does pay, well, at least for your health care.

But it may all be a moot case. I personally do not think it is constitutional to force people to pay for healthcare. Sure I know the arguments, states already force you to buy auto insurance if you drive a car, but the two situations are not equal, not even close to being similar. To drive in a state is a privilege, not a right. You can live without driving by walking, riding a bike or taking public transportation to where you need to be. You need not own a car and therefore you need not have insurance. However, if you follow the current thinking that forced healthcare coverage is like car insurance, than if you do not have it you do not have a right to live. Hmm, there is a flaw here.

From what I understand: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Do we remember this from history class boys and girls, it is the preamble of the Declaration of Independence as ratified by the second congressional congress on July 4th, 1776. You know, they one with all the fancy signatures. Look at that, LIFE is the very first unalienable right; but only if you have health insurance maybe.

From the above clear text reading I would say that being able to live should not be fettered in any way. By taxing or forcing a fee on one of your inalienable rights, you are thereby restricting the other two. So in my opinion unless you are going to amend the Declaration of Independence you will not be able to force a healthcare mandate. Auto Insurance and Healthcare Insurance are not the same.

On the other hand you are not divinely entitled to healthcare either. Healthcare is not a right but it may be a moral imperative. This moral imperative is why you are not turned away from a hospital if you are in distress. This does not mean that the hospital cannot charge you for saving your life and attempt to extract funds for said services.

We are in a classic conundrum here. We have the means to save many lives, we are morally obligated to do so when the opportunity is presented, and we cannot force payment for said services. The health insurance industry would say this is exactly why healthcare is so expensive. It is also a fact that the higher the healthcare cost are the more people will default on payment. We are in a spiral of rising healthcare costs. But of course this does not have to be the case.

One bag or normal saline given intravenously will cost you about $300. Why? Well the healthcare industry would sight that there is research into the formula of the saline solution, the bag must not fail, and other features and that they only get paid 5% of the time for that saline solution thus must charge a huge amount for it. So what is the actual cost for a formula that has been used for a century, and a delivery device that has been perfected for about 100 years? All tolled, maybe 30 cents. I think I could pay for that and not default on payment if I were to be charged $.30. I think I would even pay up to $5.00 or even more and not default. In fact if I were charged a normal cost for items in a hospital I may agree to pay for it all. But this saline bag is marked up over 900 times, which is outrageous. They charge $15.00 for a pair of Tylenol (individually wrapped) but I can get Tylenol for $9.00 for 100 making a pair cost $.18. Because I get it from a hospital I pay 83 times the retail cost. And I will not even go into the costs for surgery, but I can give you a ballpark: I had a ruptured Appendix and the surgery cost ran about $90,000 dollars, I am still paying for this. But what should it have cost. If you consider tools and other devices that could be reused, the cost of other items that were single use and what you should pay for them, the time for the doctors, the time for the operating room, then you come to a total of about $8,000. Personally I would be glad to pay that for saving my life. But the markup is now so great I do not know how I will successfully pay for this on my current living wages. What a shame, if the insurance companies and hospitals were not so greedy, they could get paid, and paid much more often. But this is too logical when compared to the possibility of making BILLIONS of dollars in profits by jacking up healthcare and insurance costs.

I guess I am a lucky person, I in fact do have healthcare but I do not know how I am going to pay for my current stent in the hospital. I have not received the bills yet, but they are on the way and I am dreading the time when they do arrive. Maybe soon I will be one of those who cannot afford healthcare. I just don’t know what I will do.